Heart's Desire
by mrs-razi
Summary: Nathan and Haley have never met. One senior year class assignment may change everything.
1. Chapter 1

_Tree Hill High School, Senior Year_

"I think roll call today is a good example of the disease commonly referred to as Senioritis. It cripples the town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, once a year, from mid-May all the way to June 16th, when most of you finally get your little scrap of paper fondly referred to as the diploma and throw your caps into the air," Mr. Durham sighed as he counted off six students in attendance out of twenty-eight. He passed out the writing assignment that would serve as the final thirty point assignment for the course. As his eyes landed on the body occupying the back row seat, he chuckled, "Fancy seeing you here, son."

"What can I say? I have a thirst for knowledge, Coach." Nathan Scott smiled and tucked the sheet of paper handed to him into his bag without glancing at it. He looked around, proud of himself for his own smart mouth comment, but to his dismay, he didn't receive the approval of any of his classmates. He shook his head, mumbling to himself, _nerds_.

"So, Nathan, what brings you to class on this beautiful Friday morning?" Coach Durham asked, already knowing the answer. "I heard your teammates talking about sun, sand and babes in bikinis as they were leaving practice last night."

"I told you sir, a thirst for…" Nathan muttered less enthusiastically as the first time. The reminder of what his friends were doing while he was stuck in class put a serious damper on his mood. A teammate's cousin had scored them three cases of beer for their beach barbeque, and according to his loyal sidekick, Tim, the new cheerleader Rachel Gattina had hinted that she'd bought herself a mini gold bikini that she planned on showing off today especially for Nathan's benefit. Everyone knew Gattina had a thing for Nathan. Sure, her obvious flirting stroked his ego, because she was smoking hot and all, but for some reason, Nathan just didn't have the desire to score with her like his guys were urging him to do.

"I see that, son, you got a thirst alright!" Coach Durham smiled, breaking Nathan from his thoughts, "A thirst for those 28 points you need out of the 30 available on this essay to pass this class and graduate. You know how to rise up to a challenge, I'm sure you'll do alright."

Coach Durham always gave his star player a hard time, but at his heart, he was always rooting for Nathan to succeed despite his flawed trait of self-destruction. Looking at the other five pupils, all of whom were A-students who wouldn't think of cutting class, Coach had a light-bulb moment. "So, the rules of this assignment are simple. Since there are six of you, we won't have any issues. This will be a collaborative essay effort. Each of you will have a partner with whom you will write an essay discussing your thoughts on the following quote by George Bernard Shaw:

"There are two tragedies in life:

one is to lose your heart's desire,

the other is to gain it."

Nathan looked around nervously. Aside from him, there were three other guys in the class, which meant two girls. He needed Coach to pair him with a girl. His grade depended on it. Closing his eyes, he listened as the names were read, hoping he would be paired with a chick so he could turn on the old Scott charm and trick her into doing the assignment for him. He wasn't a writer. He wasn't sure what that quote meant. All he knew about his desire was that his heart's desire was graduating from Tree Hill High with the rest of his friends, and he would do anything to avoid the tragedy of not gaining it.

"Nathan Scott and Haley James," Coach Durham called out the last two names, walking over to the girl sitting in the front row as he smiled apologetically, "Hope you still consider me your favorite teacher after this, dear."

"Of course, Mr. Durham," She smiled, nodding her head as she began jotting some notes down into her notebook at furious speed.

Nathan took a moment to study her for the first time. Sure, he'd seen her around; for Tree Hill was a small town. But, he'd never spent a second to really focus on her. Haley James. She had a bucket hat pulled over her head, with a loose braid of honeyed-blond hair running down the side of her back. Her jeans were form fitting, and frayed at the ends. She had her legs crossed and her black converse was tapping away at the leg of the chair she was sitting in. Nathan's eyes focused on the handwriting on the bottom ledge of her shoe, trying to make out the letters she had written in black marker. Traveling up her body, trying to ignore the ridiculous hat on her head, Nathan noticed the pen she was holding in her hand. The tip of the pen disappeared in her mouth. He squinted to make out the outline of her lips around the pen. He had seen the girl before through the years, and couldn't remember ever having said a word to her. But, sitting there with his eyes transfixed on the profile of her mouth, Nathan was dumbfounded. He didn't know how long he sat like that, or why he hadn't heard the final bell ring, but the next thing he knew, she was standing in front of him and smacking an index card onto his desk, avoiding his gaze as she mumbled, "I'm not going to do your work for you, so don't be late."

She was gone, leaving Nathan with a confused expression on his face and the scent of vanilla and lavender in his nose. For a guy who didn't notice stuff like this about girls, and nerdy girls in particular, Nathan couldn't help but think that she smelled like heaven. He picked up the index card and saw the colorful ink, the immaculate handwriting: Café by the Docks 6:00 p.m. Be Prepared.

Nathan's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. _Prepared for what?_

"Nathan?" Coach Durham looked up from his desk across the room with the hint of a smile on his face, "Close your mouth, son."

Haley James couldn't catch a break. She was neck and neck in the race for Tree Hill High's Valedictorian and the highest grade in Mr. Durham's English course could determine the winner. It really wasn't fair. After all, her competitor, Julian Baker was a transfer student to Tree Hill. God could only know how easy his last school must have been for him to get all perfect grades like Haley had accomplished. That goofball Julian didn't deserve to be valedictorian and take away her dream. Nothing was going right. Coach Durham was rooting for her to win, she knew that. That knowledge is what made it hard for her to believe he was pairing her with Nathan Scott, the biggest jerk in the whole school. Nathan hadn't even known her name until today, she was sure of it, so he probably also didn't know that she was best friends with his arch-enemy, his half-brother Lucas Scott. Lucas and Nathan shared the same vile excuse for a father, Dan Scott. Dan had never claimed Lucas as his own son, and worse, he had taught Nathan from an early age to hate his brother. All her life, Haley had watched Nathan Scott make her friend's life a living hell. She hated him. She had never hated anyone her entire life, but she sure as hell hated Nathan Scott.

At 5:55 p.m., Haley arrived at the café by the docks and was surprised to see Nathan already occupying a small booth in the back. She had expected him to be late, just like he'd made a point of showing late to every class they'd ever been in together. "You're here," She said, walking up to him and dropping her bags on the rounded booth bench, making sure she left an adequate amount of space between them before sitting down.

She glanced up at him and noticed he was staring down at his cell phone, oblivious to her. She shook her head, hating the situation she found herself in. After a minute of him completely ignoring her, Haley's temper got the best of her and she reached for his phone, pulling it away from his hand. As their skin connected, she felt a jolt of awareness race through her. She hoped she wasn't blushing as his conflicted eyes finally rose up to meet hers, his voice solemn, "I can't work with you tonight, Haley."

She should have been furious, but the truth was, she was still feeling a strange tingle on her skin and her mind was only focusing on one fact: This was the first time Nathan Scott had ever said her name. She closed her eyes for a brief second and remembered Lucas, the pain he'd gone through over and over the past four years at Nathan's bullying hands, and she was angry at him again. "What do you mean you can't work with me tonight? We only have the weekend, and I can't afford to mess this assignment up."

He looked apologetic, he truly did, but she didn't care. He shrugged, "I can't afford it either, but there's this bonfire tonight that I have to show up at."

"A bonfire?" She rolled her eyes and reached for her bag and books, shaking her head, muttering to herself, "Excuse me, I apparently forgot for a second that this was The OC and not Tree Hill. Obviously a beach bonfire takes priority over something I've been working my ass off for in the past four years!"

Not letting Nathan speak for even a moment, Haley was on her feet. Sending an apologetic waive to her friend Marvin McFadden who worked at the café weeknights after school, Haley tore out of there and started walking fast toward the docks. The benches by the water were "her place", where she went to when she needed someplace peaceful to sort out her thoughts. She couldn't go home this angry and she also couldn't bother Lucas with her predicament. She didn't want Lucas thinking of Nathan for even a second if he didn't have to. She was intent on keeping this assignment with her best friend's half brother a secret to the grave. The tables by the docks were luckily vacant. She took a seat at the one beneath the lamp-post and pulled out her notebook, trying to block the occurrence of the past ten minutes from her mind. She looked at the quote and tried to focus. _What is your heart's desire, Haley James?_ She didn't have a clue.

"Jesus, are you training for the Olympics or something?" Nathan asked, finally catching up to her. He watched her stare at her notebook, ignoring him. He'd been lost in his own thoughts when she'd shown up at the café, but now that he found a moment to focus, he noticed how pretty she was. _Pretty! Nathan Scott had never called a girl pretty before._ She had changed after school because now she was dressed in a thin black v-neck sweater and faded jeans. Her Converse sneakers were peeking out from underneath the table, but this time they were white, not black. Her hair was flowing down the side of her left shoulder, in soft curls. She must have undone the braid after school.

Nathan felt his phone vibrating in his pocket for the tenth time in ten minutes, but he found himself ignoring it. Something about this girl was clouding his head and making it hard for him to concentrate on anything but getting her to talk to him. "Listen, I wasn't blowing you off, Hales."

She looked up at him angrily, "Don't call me that. My friends call me that."

"Whatever," He shrugged, smiling despite himself. He liked to see that fire in her eyes when she was snapping at him. Even by the dim light of the lamp-post above head, it was plainly easy to see that there was a red blush creeping up her neck. Something inside his chest constricted at the thought that he was able to bring out such a strong reaction in her. "It's not about the bonfire, it's my dad…"

He cleared his throat, uncomfortable to be sharing this information with a girl he didn't even know. Somehow, he could trust her with this. He knew she wouldn't use it against him or laugh at him for it. He just had a feeling about the kind of girl Haley James was. She didn't let him explain, "Oh, your dad, right. He needs you at the bonfire, right? He's probably planning on roasting little kids and cute pets over the fire... You're the kind of guy who blamed the dog for eating your homework in middle school with a straight face, aren't you?"

His face fell. For a minute, he thought of the jumble of words that had just passed from her mouth. The image of his dad roasting kids and puppies over a fire stuck in his head. Usually, he'd be defensive to a stranger, even about an asshole like his dad, but something about Haley just felt natural. He began to chuckle softly and she looked at him with a scowl on her face and an unmistakably curious look in her eye. She thought he was nuts. He shrugged, "I can imagine Dan doing that, you know."

She furrowed her eyebrows and then after a moment's silence, she tilted her head down so he wouldn't see her face clearly. He could swear he saw the hint of a smile break against her lips. When she looked back up at him, her expression was blank, "Go to your stupid party, you're probably not going to be able to concentrate on the assignment anyway. I'll write it for the both of us."

This morning, those words would have been all Nathan wanted to hear. But, hearing them from Haley James, he felt a pang of regret in the pit of his stomach. "It's not about partying, Hales."

Her eyes shot daggers at him and he cleared his throat, "I mean, Haley. It's at my family's beach house and I'm expected to be there so the guys can …"

"Just go." She urged, wanting to get rid of him, "Getting a perfect score and being named valedictorian means the world to me, and if it means doing the work of some privileged jock who doesn't own up to his responsibilities, so be it."

She was disappointed in him. Nathan's father had shown disappointment in him all his life and Nathan hadn't cared. But, seeing the fire dim in Haley's eyes, Nathan grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and turned it off. "Let's go."

"I'm not going to the bonfire…" She watched him grabbing her books and stuffing them in her bag for her, "Hey… stop that!"

Once he had her book bag on his shoulder, he nodded toward the café, "If we're going to be working on this paper, I'm gonna need some coffee and pie, do they have pie?"

She looked at him like he was an alien. "Are you bipolar?"

He laughed, "You think I can't be responsible, well I'm going to prove you wrong."

"You're going to skip your own party?" She asked, skeptical.

He had a smirk on his face as he shrugged, "What's your heart's desire, Haley James?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews. They really encouraged me to continue writing. This chapter is a bit longer and really packs a punch…hope you take the time to drop a note when you finish reading! Thanks!**

Haley James was different. He stole sideways glances at her as they walked in comfortable silence from the docks back to the café. Haley glanced back at him, every so often, offering a polite smile, but she didn't say much else. Nathan still carried her book bag on his shoulder. He wondered how such a small girl could handle carrying around such a heavy bag. It was giving him a stiff shoulder after just a couple of minutes. Other than that, he was completely relaxed. There was just something about being around this girl that put him at ease. He felt like he didn't have to try so hard to be Nathan Scott. He could just be average Nathan and Haley wouldn't care. Nathan was used to bubbly, annoying girls; the kind of girls that talked incessantly and needed to be the center of attention.

When they got to the café, he made it a point to hurry his step so he could hold the door open for her. He knew it was the first time he had ever held the door open for a girl, other than his grandmother. "Hey, our booth is still empty," He smiled, heading to take a seat. He set her bag down for her.

Haley felt like she had entered the twilight zone. Nathan was acting completely different from the arrogant jerk who had wanted to ditch her to go to some bonfire party less than an hour ago. _He was working an angle, he had to be,_ she thought to herself. She tapped the end of her purple pen softly against her lips and quietly said, "So, the subject is your heart's desire. Gaining it and losing it. Both are a tragedy. Why?"

She glanced up at Nathan and saw his eyes were glued to the pen at her lips. She immediately felt warmth radiating in her cheeks and she turned her face back down toward her paper. She thanked the heavens for Marvin interrupting the awkward moment, "Hales, what can I get you guys?"

Marvin looked from Haley, to Nathan, and back to Haley, with a confused look on his face. Haley had known Marvin all her life and she knew exactly what he was thinking. With a roll of her eyes, she explained, "We're stuck working on an English assignment together."

Marvin nodded in relief, "Got it."

Nathan wasn't happy about the exchange, "Relieved to hear we're not on a date, Mouth?"

"What?" Haley whispered in a hiss, turning to him. She quickly pasted a smile back on her face and turned to Marvin, "We'll have two coffees and two slices of pie, whatever's freshest."

When Mouth was gone, Nathan asked the burning question on his mind, "You don't have a crush on that dork, do you?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Marvin and I have been friends since we were in diapers." Haley replied. "You didn't have to call him that horrible nickname!"

"Mouth?" Nathan shrugged, "It's his name."

"No, it's not! His name is Marvin. Mouth is something all the assholes in this school call him because some random jock decided to punch him in the mouth one day in the sixth grade and tell him he had a big mouth." Haley shook her head in shame. "Kids are idiots."

Nathan was quiet. He guessed he'd known all along where Marvin McFadden had gotten his nickname, but he wasn't proud of the reminder. Luckily it seemed like Mouth was over it, because he had stopped short of calling Nathan out in front of Haley for his past actions. _Maybe he didn't even remember it was me_, Nathan thought wishfully. But, how could a kid not remember something so senseless?

Marvin brought out the pies and coffee, and before he left, Nathan politely muttered, "Thanks, Marvin."

Marvin held Nathan's gaze and then nodded softly, "No problem."

When they were alone, Haley whispered softly, "What do you desire, Nathan?"

As he heard her question, an image flashed through his mind of Haley lying against a white comforter, her mess of blonde curls sprawled around her face. He cleared his throat, "What?"

"Your heart's desire, how are we going to talk about this assignment?" Haley asked. "Is it just another phrase for someone you love, or…"

Haley hoped he wouldn't make her do all the work. She was having a hard time tackling the quote and any input on Nathan's part would be really helpful at this point. Nathan repeated the words in his head, _heart's desire_. "It could also mean your goals. Something your heart desire's to achieve. Like ever since I was born, it's been my dad's heart's desire for me to get to the NBA. He's practically been on top of me like a slave driver getting me to where I am so far."

"That's his heart's desire, what's yours?" Haley whispered, seeing a glimpse of the real Nathan Scott for the first time in the vulnerability that was disguised in his tone of voice.

Haley had her left leg propped up on her right knee and she was furiously tapping her foot in the air, up and down. Every so often, the tip of her shoe would brush against his jeans in a feather light touch. On instinct, Nathan jutted out his hand and snaked it gently around her ankle, stilling her constant movement, "Sorry, Hales, it makes me a little nervous," he referred to the tapping of her foot.

She didn't correct him and tell him to call her Haley instead of Hales. She could barely breathe let alone speak. His hand was still gently wrapped around her ankle and she was feeling warmth radiating from his touch. She needed to focus on the assignment, she had to, or else she'd do something really embarrassing. "So, is the NBA your heart's desire?" Haley whispered, hoping her breath wouldn't hitch.

He looked down at his hand, focusing on the rubber edges of her white converse sneakers. Again, there was blank ink all over them. He concentrated on the jumbled letters, squished together haphazardly and worn with time: L.S. is my Hero.

"Who's L.S.?" Nathan asked curiously, feeling a strange sickness in the pit of his stomach at the thought of someone being worthy enough to be Haley's hero.

"Let's keep focus, Nathan," Haley advised, hoping he'd drop the line of questioning. She really didn't want to let him know she was best friends with the boy he hated. She wasn't sure how he'd handle it, or if he would purposely try to make her fail the assignment as payback to Lucas for … well, for having the nerve to be born.

"Not until you tell me who L.S. is!" Nathan smiled, "Is he your boyfriend?"

"God, no." Haley laughed, "More like my brother."

Nathan's jealously waned. "Come on Hales, spill the beans."

"There are no beans. There's only this assignment and that's what we're focusing on," She slipped her ankle away from his hand.

For some reason, she was quickly shutting down on him. Nathan could tell by the way she ceased all her quirky little movements – the pen chewing and the foot tapping – and she sat perfectly still, avoiding his stare. He knew he had to do something quick. Tearing the bottom half of his sheet of paper, Nathan tried to keep his handwriting as neat as possible: MJ is my hero. He passed the paper over to Haley. She sighed in frustration and glanced at the words, "Michael Jackson? Really, Nathan, I thought you'd idolize Tupac or something, not the moonwalk king…"

"No, you goof," He laughed, "Michael Jordan."

Her legs were suddenly crossed again. It was like she couldn't stop herself from gravitating towards him when he laughed so naturally with her. The way he called her a goof, it made her heart tap nervously, as she realized that the Nathan Scott she'd spent her life despising from afar wasn't who he pretended to be. She just had a hunch.

Nathan noticed her tapping her foot again and unable to stop himself, he touched her ankle again. Her eyes rose to meet his. He gave her a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows, and he said, "I showed you mine…"

"Nathan, we're not friends." Haley reminded him, "We're just working together."

"I'm hurt, Hales." He muttered, "Seriously, that was harsh."

She watched his face carefully to see if he was joking and she couldn't find even the hint of a smile. She was about to apologize when she felt his cool fingertips slipping up her ankle to the top of her socks, until they reached the actual skin of her ankle. Before she could stop it, he was tickling her. She gasped and erupted in an uncensored giggle that was characteristic of the girls she usually saw hanging around Nathan and his friends. A few customers looked over at them curiously. Haley immediately pulled her foot away from Nathan's hand in embarrassment. She wasn't one of _those girls_… the ones who laughed loudly in a booth with the captain of the basketball team. She didn't want to be another one of those girls.

"Stop, Nathan, I mean it." She whispered coldly.

He was sorry he upset her. The truth was he wasn't sure how to act around Haley. All he knew was that it felt good to touch her skin and to watch her blush and to hear her laugh. He was thirsting for more of it. He knew he had to focus and show her that he wasn't some screw up who was wasting her time. He had to peel off some of the layers he had masked over himself over many years of practice, and he had to show her who he really was when he thought no one else was looking. She deserved that from him.

"The NBA is my heart's desire. I guess more my dad's dream than mine, but still – I worked hard for it all my life. I've busted my ass since I was eight to be great at this one thing. If I do make it, the tragedy will probably be that it still won't be enough to make my dad proud of me," Nathan fell silent. He felt relieved for having shared his thoughts with another person. These thoughts had been eating away at him all his life.

Haley felt an overpowering urge to just pull Nathan into her arms and hold him tight. His admission proved that maybe Dan Scott had done Lucas a favor by refusing to claim him as a son. On the outside, it looked like Nathan had gotten the better end of the deal, but Haley was no longer sure. She was only sure of one thing. She didn't want Nathan to not feel good enough because of Dan. "You'll do it for you, Nathan. And no matter what Dan Scott has to say about it, you'll be proud of yourself."

"You know, that's the second time you've mentioned Dan like you know him," Nathan whispered, "What's up with that, Hales?"

"Umm…" She twirled her hair into a twist. He smiled with curious interest at this new nervous habit he was discovering about her.

His eyes bore into hers and he tilted his head, "Umm..?"

Haley's attention faltered. She stared at the door as she heard the bell above it jingle. "Speak of the devil," She whispered.

Nathan looked to the door, cursing his dad for ruining the moment with Haley. He slouched in his seat. Dan Scott stepped inside the café dressed casually in a way that was strangely out of character for him. _Is he wearing my red polo shirt?_ Nathan examined his father's jeans and sneakers, and the youthful way he'd styled his hair. Nathan grabbed a book and held it up near his face, trying to remain undetected. Haley watched Nathan's reaction to his father with interest. He seemed truly weary of his father's presence.

Dan Scott turned and held the door open behind him. A blonde girl in her twenties strode in, touching his bicep playfully as she passed by him and headed to the counter. Dan let her pass and he followed her, his eyes drifting down to appreciate the rise and fall of the hem of her cotton mini skirt.

Nathan held a pencil in his hand. He watched the exchange like a hawk, examining every touch and whisper. His temper rose and before long, the pencil snapped clear in half. Once it was broken, his hand curled tight into a fist. Haley saw his fist so tight that his skin was turning color and on instinct, she grasped his hand underneath her smaller one. With gentle persuasion, her fingers forced their way between his, lacing them together as she squeezed his hand tight. "Just breathe, Nathan," She whispered.

Dan and his date laughed as they debated between choices of dessert. Dan had his hand low on the small of the girl's waist. Nathan whispered through clenched teeth, "I'm going to kill him."

She had heard Lucas mutter the same, with less conviction. "No," Haley whispered, squeezing his hand again as she leaned over to him. He felt the soft strands of her hair on his bare arm. The scent of her shampoo filled his head. With her being so close to him, Nathan found his thoughts drifting toward Haley and away from Dan. Her lips vibrated near his ear and he tried to focus, "We're going to get up and walk out of here, without even glancing at him. Are you with me, Nathan?"

His head was shaking, like he was fighting some inner struggle.

"Nathan," She said again, calmly, catching his attention, "Are you with me?"

He broke his gaze away from Dan and turned his head, meeting Haley's eyes. Suddenly, all he could focus on was the fact that his lips were centimeters away from hers. His eyes moved slowly away from her lips, up to meet her brown eyes full of caring, "What are you doing to me, Haley James?"

She smiled and ignored the butterflies in her stomach. It was the first time she ever had felt such a strong reaction to someone's words. If someone were to take her temperature at that very moment, she was sure she'd be burning up with fever. She rose from her seat and tugged gently on his hand, urging him to follow her.

Nathan stood and despite his confused state of mind, he remembered to take her heavy book bag from her. They walked slowly toward the door. Haley willed herself to keep him moving. A confrontation would not be good. She didn't know what Nathan might do. Nathan did his best to follow Haley, but at the last minute, when he was almost to the door, he looked up and met his father's eyes.

"Nathan," Dan whispered, and for a fleeting moment, Nathan saw shame in his father's eyes. Then, Dan stood straight and raised his tone indignantly asking, "Why the hell aren't you at the beach house? You're supposed to be there!"

"Yeah?" Nathan shrugged, "And where are you supposed to be, Dan?"

Nathan shouldn't have referred to him by his first name. He only did that when his father wasn't around. Dan grabbed Nathan's arm and Nathan had to clench his muscles to avoid the discomforting pain caused by his father's grip.

"Hey!" Somehow, Haley wedged herself in between the two Scott men. It was her first instinct to protect Nathan from Dan, just like it had always been her instinct to protect Lucas from Dan. "Let go of him right now, Mr. Scott!"

Dan tore his gaze away from his son and looked down at the slight girl with the angry voice. He took a second look, recognizing her. An amused grin spread over his face, "What, you have a thing for Scott men?"

Haley scowled at him. She wanted to get away from the dark cloud that seemed to hover whenever Dan Scott was around. But, she refused to let go of Nathan's hand. "Come on, Nathan."

"Don't forget girl," Dan whispered, out of his date's earshot, "I'm a Scott man, too. Some would consider me the original."

"Don't talk to her like that!" Nathan warned, "And don't talk to me, either."

"Nathan, you get yourself to that beach house and make sure your friends are having the time of their lives, or you'll live to regret it." Dan's warning shook Haley to the core. She pulled on Nathan's hand and rushed out of the café, gasping for air and normalcy.


End file.
